Sudanese women bear the brunt of war as violations continue, activist warns
Key Takeaways
- Sudanese women face killings, sexual violence, displacement, and intimidation during the ongoing war
- Rehab El Mubarak, member of the Emergency Lawyers executive office, says women are disproportionately affected
- Conflict has devastated large parts of Sudan
Disproportionate impact
Rehab El Mubarak, a member of the executive office of the Emergency Lawyers group, told Radio Dabanga in March that Sudanese women are paying the highest price in the country’s ongoing war, which has devastated large parts of Sudan since fighting erupted between rival military factions.
“Sudanese women are paying the highest price in the country’s ongoing war, facing a growing catalogue of abuses including killings, sexual violence, displacement and intimidation, according to a leading rights activist”
Speaking during March — widely recognised as Women’s Month, which includes International Women’s Day on March 8 — Mubarak said women have faced a growing catalogue of abuses including killings, sexual violence, displacement and intimidation.
She said many women have been forced into displacement while simultaneously carrying the burden of supporting their families amid worsening humanitarian conditions.
Deadly shelling incident
Mubarak pointed to a particularly deadly incident in which about 40 women were killed when a transport vehicle travelling from the city of Ed Daein to El Fula was struck by shelling; she said most of the victims were travelling with their children to attend a funeral.
She described deaths from aerial bombardment and heavy artillery attacks as among the causes of female casualties in the conflict.
Targeting of professionals
Mubarak said abuses have not been confined to active combat zones and that female journalists, lawyers, teachers and human rights defenders have been targeted with arrests, harassment and intimidation because of their work documenting violations or speaking publicly about the situation facing civilians.
“Sudanese women are paying the highest price in the country’s ongoing war, facing a growing catalogue of abuses including killings, sexual violence, displacement and intimidation, according to a leading rights activist”
She added that some professional women have faced punitive measures such as dismissal from their jobs, the suspension of salaries, restrictions on practising their professions, confiscation of passports and prevention from travelling.
Legal breaches and resolve
Mubarak warned that rape, sexual violence, abduction and forced marriage represent grave breaches of international humanitarian law and could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
She said Sudanese women are enduring repeated displacement, often moving from one region to another in search of safety, struggling to secure basic necessities and being compelled to work to support their families both inside Sudan and in neighbouring countries where they have sought refuge.
Despite the scale of suffering, Mubarak said Sudanese women remain determined to continue their struggle for a civilian, democratic Sudan: "These violations will not prevent Sudanese women from defending human rights and revealing the truth," she said.
"They will continue their work and their struggle for justice."
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